AmEx Makes it Official: Launches $100 M. of Early Stage Investments

American Express just hosted their first ever Open Forum hackathon at General Assembly and the company has been invested and partnered with a number of New York startups this year. Now American Express has announced an initiative to invest $100 million in early startups to “facilitate the company’s transition to digital,” which seems like a fancy way of saying they want to be in on the smart money.

“American Express is a 162 year old company that has continuously reinvented itself,” said Dan Schulman, Group President, Enterprise Growth, American Express. “As we enter the next chapter in our history, we recognize the need to work with emerging technology companies to inspire change, encourage innovation, and ultimately deliver the best products and services to our customers.”

AmEx made a big investment in social advertiser Clickable last month. The Next Web also pointed to partnerships with early stage NYC startups like Percolate, Veri and Kohort.

The credit card company joins BMW, who earlier this year established a major presence in Silicon Alley with its iVentures, as a major corporation looking to the world of venture capital in order to stay sharp.

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